Founded as Makung Airlines in 1988 and renamed Uni Air in 1996. Today it has 14 ATR 72-600 aircraft, 16 routes and more than 700 flights a week.
All of its capacity comes from passenger bellies.
UNI Airways Corporation was incorporated on 6 August 1988. Its predecessor wasMagu Airlines— named after Magong in Penghu and the first airline licensed after the local market opened. In 1995 the Evergreen Group bought a majority stake,and the airline was renamed Uni Air in 1996.
1998 was the pivotal year.Uni Air merged with Great China Airlines and Taiwan Airways, both Taiwan region carriers, with Uni Air as the surviving company. EVA Air left Taiwan region domestic routes entirely and handed its network, together with its MD-90 aircraft, to Uni Air. That set the division of labour: EVA Air flies international long haul, Uni Air flies regional and offshore island routes.
In 2003 Uni Air took part in the first cross-strait Lunar New Year charter flights, the group's earliest contact with the mainland China market. Its role today is that ofa regional carrier built on Taiwan region domestic routes, extended by cross-strait and short-haul regional flying. One common misunderstanding:Uni Air is not a Star Alliance member— it shares a frequent flyer program and lounges with EVA Air, but the two hold separate air operator certificates with independent code and waybill systems.
| Chinese name | UNI Airways Corporation |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Taiwan region · Evergreen Group |
| Founded | 6 August 1988 |
| Hub | Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) |
| Secondary bases | Kaohsiung Xiaogang (KHH), Taichung Ching Chuan Kang (RMQ) |
| Head office | 8F, 117 Chang'an East Road Section 2, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan region |
| Active fleet | 14 ATR 72-600 (no freighters) |
| Official website | www.uniair.com.tw |
Passenger sales code, used in flight numbers and global distribution systems. Four-digit designators such as B7-7009 are code-share numbers.
Used for air traffic control and flight planning, appearing in flight status and tracking data but not in commercial sales.
Radio callsign used between pilots and controllers, spoken as GLORY, not used in commercial sales.
Uni Air MAWB numbers begin with 525, in the format525-XXXXXXXX, 11 digits in total: a 3-digit carrier code plus 8 serial digits.
The only type Uni Air owns and operates. It is designed for short runways, high frequency and low fuel burn, and its hold is a standard regional airliner belly:four separate small bulk compartments, loaded by hand piece by piece, with no room for pallets. Two Pratt and Whitney PW127M engines; the newly ordered aircraft of the same type use the PW127XT-M, cutting fuel burn about 3 percent and maintenance cost about 20 percent, with seating raised to 72.
The harder constraint is the doors:forward hold door 126 × 150 cm, aft hold door 61 × 122 cm. If any dimension is exceeded the piece cannot be loaded, so odd-shaped packing must be checked before it is built.
Uni Air's own two A321-200s have left service. Jet aircraft on cross-strait and short-haul regional routes are nowleased from EVA Air. Flights such as B7-187 and B7-502 are flown on EVA Air airframes and crews but sold by Uni Air, which issues the MAWB with the 525 prefix.
A321-200Cargo hold volume approx.51.76 m³, takes containers, and is the most common type on cross-strait routes.A330-300Cargo hold volume approx.158 m³, with 18 LD3 positions forward and 14 aft plus bulk space, an order of magnitude more belly capacity per departure than the A321.
Note:Aircraft types on cross-strait flights are allocated by the carrier under its capacity plan and can change at any time. When we confirm a booking we check the type operating that day and the payload available, then quote a limit we can stand behind.
The earlier main types,BAe 146-300,Boeing 757-200and the laterDash 8,MD-90-30, have all been retired, leaving a single type in the owned fleet.
In July 2025 Uni Air signed with ATR of France for19 ATR 72-600s(about USD 437 million, plus options on 3 more), with deliveries from mid-2027 andcompletion by 2032.All 19 are the passenger version; no ATR 72-600F freighters were ordered. The factory 72-600F carries about 9 tonnes with about 75 m³ of volume, which serves a different market.
Unlike many overseas carriers with no mainland China points, Uni Air publishesa set of public, directly dialled cargo phone numberscovering both cities with live flights and cities shown on the route map.
This is the only clearly documented representative body in mainland China. A representative office normally handles liaison and coordination only:it does not accept bookings or settle accounts, and the actual work goes through the carrier's cargo department or an authorised agent.
Each airport has its own cargo counter; collection and status enquiries after arrival start there:
The EVA Air and Uni Air Asia regional route map marks operating responsibility for mainland points: Uni Air operatesChongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Wuxi, Xiamen and Xi'an, and jointly with EVA AirGuangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai Pudong and Ningbo. The map shows how sales authority is split, and B7 flight numbers to those cities can genuinely be bought. But counting onlyscheduled flights actually operating, there are only three cross-strait routes as of September 2026.
| Leg | Flight number | Departure | Arrival | Operating days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taoyuan TPE → Shenzhen SZX | B7-187 | 16:25 | 18:25 | OneTueThreeThuFiveSatSun |
| Shenzhen SZX → Taoyuan TPE | B7-188 | 19:45 | 21:35 | OneTueThreeThuFiveSatSun |
| Songshan TSA → Xiamen XMN | B7-511 | 09:40 / 17:00 | 11:20 / 18:40 | OneTueThreeThuFiveSatSun |
| Xiamen XMN → Songshan TSA | B7-512 | 12:20 / 19:40 | 16:25 / 21:30 | OneTueThreeThuFiveSatSun |
| Songshan TSA → Shanghai Pudong PVG | B7-502 | 08:00 | 10:00 | OneTueThreeThuFiveSatSun |
| Shanghai Pudong PVG → Songshan TSA | B7-501 | 11:15 | 13:10 | OneTueThreeThuFiveSatSun |
Shenzhen routeThe strongest option: five flights a day, outbound 16:25-18:25 and return 19:45-21:35, a same-day round trip rhythm, and the route most used for urgent parts and samples.Xiamen routeOne flight each on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with an extra evening second sector on Friday.Shanghai Pudong routeOne flight each on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, landing at Songshan, which sits in the city and makes handover easier.
First point:The official winter timetable lists Shenzhen-Taoyuan B7-188 as departing at 19:45, while some live tracking channels show 19:35. Differences of this kind usually come from the seasonal switch or from lagging data, and the carrier's current publication governs.Second point:Four-digit B7 flight numbers are code-share designators; the actual carrier is identified by who issues the MAWB and whose aircraft operates the flight.
| Region | Destinations | How it is operated |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland China | Shenzhen, Xiamen and Shanghai Pudong have live flights; Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shenyang, Wuxi, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Ningbo are marked points | Leased EVA Air jets |
| Taiwan region | Songshan, Taoyuan, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Hualien, Taitung, Kinmen, Penghu Magong, Matsu Nangan and Beigan | Own ATR 72-600s, the core of the network |
| East and Southeast Asia | Seoul Incheon, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi | Leased jets |
| Not covered | No routes of its own to Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa or Oceania | Transit through the Taiwan region required |
First, short sectors and fixed schedules.The Shenzhen, Xiamen and Shanghai sectors take about two hours each, short corridors that can deliver the same day.
Second, Songshan is in the city.It sits closer to the city centre than Taoyuan, which suits cargo that must be handed over within hours of landing.
Third, connections inside the group cut coordination cost.For onward carriage to Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Europe or North America the connecting carrier is EVA Air, in the same group, with common documentation and ground handling standards.
Fourth, direct lines in many mainland cities.Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shanghai Pudong, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Chongqing, Xi'an, Qingdao, Dalian and Shenyang all have published cargo numbers.
First, its own capacity is very small.An ATR offers about 10.6 m³ and 1.7 tonnes of belly space per aircraft; the cross-strait jets have far more, but the spare room goes to passenger baggage first.
Second, only three mainland points have live flights.Cargo from other cities must first be consolidated in Shenzhen, Xiamen or Shanghai.
Third, no freighters, so no dedicated aircraft can be arranged.Capacity is bound to the passenger timetable and tight space in peak season is normal.
Fourth, oversize cargo cannot be carried.A piece larger than the 126 × 150 cm forward door or the 61 × 122 cm aft door cannot be loaded.
Fifth, Europe and North America require a transit.Aircraft change at Taoyuan, adding about a day compared with a direct flight.
Electronic components and small chip shipmentsPrecision instrumentsSamples and repair returnsSmall high-value itemsOriginal business documentsSmall temperature-controlled lots
Pieces over 126 × 150 cmShipments over 1.5 tonnesFull pallets or containers in bulkLong profiles and large mouldsDirect service to Europe or North America requiredUndisclosed lithium batteries and dangerous goods
The first five are impossible on physical or network grounds. Lithium batteries are accepted in passenger belly holds only under strict conditions, with further restrictions on cross-strait sectors, sowritten declaration to and confirmation from the carrier are required first.
Uni Air set up a cargo department in July 2000, initially to supply residents and businesses on the offshore islands: Kinmen, Magong and Matsu had daily flights and the belly holds met the need for immediate delivery. From September 2003 the service extended to international traffic. Its cargo role rests on four supports.
The Shenzhen, Xiamen and Shanghai Pudong routes provide steady short-haul belly capacity and are the most direct leg for mainland exports entering the Taiwan region.
Cargo arriving in the Taiwan region can be handed to EVA Air for onward carriage: 9 777F freighters plus passenger belly capacity covering North America, Europe, Oceania and major Asian cities.
EVA Air and group affiliates hold all four IATA CEIV certifications: pharmaceutical, perishable, live animals and lithium batteries.
12 Taiwan region domestic points and more than 700 flights a week distribute arriving cargo to Kinmen, Penghu, Matsu, Taitung and elsewhere.
Uni Airtook first place in the domestic scheduled route category of the civil aviation authority's Golden Wing Award for the fifth time in 2026, and in 2025 won gold in the airline category of the fourth Taiwan region customer service centre assessment. It holds close to 60 percent of Taiwan region domestic routes and carried 490,000 offshore island residents in 2025, 32 percent of its passengers. For shippers,an airline with high flight density and consistent external assessment usually gives more stable belly capacity.
The division of work in the group matters:EVA Air handles international long-haul passenger traffic and all main cargo capacity (9 777Fs, waybill prefix 695, Star Alliance member); Uni Air handles the Taiwan region domestic network plus cross-strait, East Asian and Southeast Asian short-haul routes (14 ATR 72-600s, leased EVA Air jets on regional routes, waybill prefix 525, not a Star Alliance member). On the cargo side these are two separate systems.
Cross-strait air bookings are almost always made inside the booking system by an IATA freight forwarder or an airline-authorised sales agent; shippers rarely deal with the airline directly. Available belly space moves with the passenger load factor in real time.
We are an international freight forwarder based in Shenzhen, China, and we work for overseas importers who buy in China and need the goods moved home. Pickup, export declaration, capacity and documents in the mainland, and customs and transhipment coordination in the Taiwan region, are all handled by us in one pass.
Send us thecommodity, pieces, piece dimensions and weight, departure city, delivery address and required arrival dateand we first judge whether this corridor suits the cargo, then quote a plan with freight, transit time and a note of the risks.
Website: goodhope86.com · if this corridor does not suit the cargo we say so plainly and propose an alternative carrier.
Prepared by Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited (Goodhope Freight). Airline names, codes and brand marks mentioned here belong to their respective owners, and our company has no affiliation, agency or investment relationship with the airlines described. The information is compiled from public sources for reference only and does not form a contract of carriage or a commitment. Space, rates and schedules are subject to actual confirmation by the carrier or its authorized agent at the time of booking.